Disney channel
Disney Channel is a kids and teen's entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland since 1 October 1995. A one-hour timeshift service called Disney Channel +1 is available on Sky and Virgin Media. Disney Channel currently has two sister channels; Disney Junior and Disney XD. It currently focuses on live-action programming. History Disney Channel was originally planned to launch in 1989 on the newly launched Sky satellite service. It was featured in much of the promotional material surrounding the launch of Sky Television and the Astra satellite. The joint venture with Sky collapsed May 1989 after discussion about the venture had been taking place since November 1988, but Disney felt it was no longer on equal footing on "decision-making responsibility" in 50-50 partnership. Disney was supposed to start up two channels, but when the talks broke down, Sky issued a lawsuit against Disney, claiming £1.5 billion in damages. The suit was later settled with Disney selling its stake in the joint venture back to Sky, and agreeing to licence its movie library for a five-year period. Super RTL launched in Germany in 1995, as a joint venture between Disney and the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (or CLT, formally the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Radiodiffusion, or CLR). Disney finally launched in the UK on the Sky platform on 1 October 1995, as the first Disney Channel in Europe and outside the United States. But before that happened however, Disney Channel's satellite owner, SES, bought Astra 1B during its construction as it was known as Satcom K3 from GE Americom. It was launched on board the European Space Agency and Arianespace's Ariane 4 rocket on Flight V42, on March 2, 1991, to add extra capacity to the satellite television services from 19.2° east, serving Germany, the UK and Republic of Ireland. In 1997, Disney Channel adopted a new Mickey Mouse head shape logo. The idents mainly used red and blue colors on irregularly shaped objects that formed the logo. On 29 September 2000, Disney Channel launched two sister channels, a preschool-oriented Playhouse Disney (now known as Disney Junior) and the now-defunct 24-hour cartoon channel Toon Disney (Which eventually got replaced with Disney Cinemagic which itself became Sky Movies Disney). A one-hour timeshift of Disney Channel also launched on the same day. All 3 were only available to Sky subscribers. NTL and Telewest customers could only receive the main Disney Channel. On all platforms, the Disney Channel package was a premium offering, requiring an additional subscription fee in order to view, though Sky subscribers could receive the channels for free if they also subscribed to the full Sky Movies package (aka Sky Movies World, with contained 4 Sky Premier channels, 5 Sky MovieMax channels and 2 Sky Cinema channels). Despite the launch of Playhouse Disney, Disney Channel continued to air a block of Playhouse Disney-branded preschool programmes during school mornings, although in later years was greatly reduced. On 15 March 2003, a new logo and graphics were introduced. In early 2006, Sky and Disney were locked in ongoing negotiations over a new contract for carriage on the former's digital satellite television service. The previous, ten-year deal, which was inked while Sky floated on the stock exchange in 1994, was temporarily extended whilst both sides attempted to reach an agreement. Sky was understood to have been seeking a substantially reduced payment towards the kids broadcaster. A new agreement, reported to be worth £130 million a yearneeded, was reached on 27 February 2007. As a result, on 16 March, changes were made to the Disney services in the UK. Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney ceased to be premium add-on channels and instead operated as part of basic-level subscription packages (such as Sky's "Kids Mix".) A new premium service, subscription channel Disney Cinemagic, was launched to take the Disney slot in the Sky Movies premium bundle; Toon Disney was replaced with Cinemagic, Toon closed at 6:00am and Cinemgaic launched at 10:00am. Disney Channel's main one-hour timeshift, Disney Channel +1 closed and was replaced with Disney Cinemagic +1. However, Disney Channel +1 subsequently returned on 26 June 2006. On 27 October 2006, Disney Channel was added to Top Up TV Anytime, a service that downloads programming overnight from various channels to a Thomson DTI 6300-16. In 2007, Disney added more VoD content to Virgin Media's service. On 22 November 2007, it was announced Disney Channel would join the lineup for Picnic, BSkyB's proposed new pay-TV service for DTT. It began broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen on 14 May 2010. A new set of program mini-idents that would play before the program would start were launched on 11 September 2010. On 1 September 2011, a new logo was adopted. On 15 September 2011, an HD version launched on Sky. On 1 June 2012, Disney Channel introduced a refreshed logo and new bumpers and promo layouts. In July 2013, a new website was launched with On Demand services and commercial advertisements started to air. Interactivity Disney Channel has an interactive television service on Sky, in which viewers are able to press the red button on their Sky remote to access information about TV series, character profiles, detailed TV listings, quizzes, and hundreds of messages submitted by viewers. The interactive service also includes links to a small selection of games. Some can be played as 'overlay' games, with the channel video continuing in the background; others are accessible via a link to a Disney-branded section of BSkyB's Sky Games interactive service. The overlay games are developed by Pushbutton and French game developers Visiware. The interactive service was designed and built by Pushbutton, and went live in September 2007 and was taken off in September 2011 6 replacing the old service created by Tamblin. Previously, Disney Channel also had a Teletext service, consisting of about 200 pages, known as Disney Text. Disney Channel used to be translated in British Sign Language on its late evening programming. Live presentation Live presentation was an important feature of Disney Channel with the best known example of this as Disney Channel UK Live, which was launched in September 1997 and later relaunched as Studio Disney on 1 May 1999. Presenters included: Nigel Mitchell, Emma Lee, Leah Charles, Jean Anderson, Mark Rumble, Amy Garcia, Ollie from Freefaller, James McCourt, Jemma James (now Jemma Forte). Studio Disney ran on weekdays, usually from 16:00 to 19:00, in direct competition with similar services offered by CBBC, CITV and Nickelodeon. The show featured a team of between two and six presenters who came on air between programmes, giving viewers the opportunity to call in, interact and win prizes. Studio Disney also produced many of its own short programmes, including Wish Upon a Star and Junior Journo, which were aired during the block itself and between programmes at other times. Studio Disney bowed out on 1 July 2005, in line with the disappearance of afternoon in-vision presentation on CITV and Nickelodeon the previous year and leaving the channel with a format similar to that of its American counterpart. The live presentation of the show would also run competitions in which viewers could win holidays, and other prizes. Special holiday competitions would be run, New Year, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Chinese New Year, Christmas, etc. For instance, a Mother's Day Competition of 2003 involved Emma Lee surprising four entrants and their mothers to a special get-away. Meanwhile, a Father's Day - Competition of 2004 involved James McCourt and Nigel Mitchell treating one lucky dad to a day at Silverstone Grand Prix track. At other times of the day, prerecorded presentations were used, typically recorded in such a manner that viewers would believe that it was live. An example of this was the breakfast segment Up (later called Zoom!), which was hosted out-of-vision by Capital Disney presenter and managing director Will Chambers. Another example originated from the Monster March event that ran throughout March 2002, during which the schedule featured many monster-themed shows and movies. Prerecorded sketches featuring a Mexican dinosaur puppet named Raoul were inserted between programmes, and as this proved popular, Raoul was given a number of his own segments on the channel over the next few years, including The Raoul Show, Good Morning Raoul and The Raoul Summer. The best sketches from The Raoul Show would later be made into a series of short programmes entitled The Best of Raoul. Raoul was even the subject of a question on the 20th Anniversary edition of Trivial Pursuit. Disney Channel also held an annual Disney Channel Kids Awards. Its categories were centred around music, sport, television and film. The winners in each category were voted for by viewers online. The ceremonies, hosted by Studio Disney presenters, were held at The Royal Albert Hall and London Arena. These were broadcast on Disney Channel and Channel 5 and featured performances from popular music artists such as Girls Aloud. Website Disney Channel's website features information, games, interactive features and contact details and submission forms. The site has been made entirely in Adobe Flash since 1 May 1999, the same day as the 1999 re-brand. In May 2003, it was completely redesigned to fit with the other Disney Channel's worldwide after the global re-brand. In 2007, it was added to disneychannel.co.uk, when the website's homepage was revamped to fit the look of the American site. In 2011, along with the other Disney sites, it was revamped. In September 2011, it was revamped once again, due to the new logo. Disney Channel services *iTunes - The channel regularly updates its iTunes library with the latest episodes. Some of these are available in HD. *Disney Channel On Demand is the channel's video-on-demand service, offering select episodes of the channel's original series. It is available from On Demand), Virgin Media and BT Vision. Disney Channel programmes This is a list of programmes shown on Disney Channel in the UK & Ireland. It does not include those shown only on Disney XD, Disney Junior, Disney Cinemagic or, previously, Toon Disney. Programming From Disney Channel UK Comedy * Liv And Maddie (8 November 2013 – present) * Girl Meets World (29 August 2014 – present) * KC Undercover (28 March 2015 – present) * Bunk'd (20 November 2015 – present) * Best Friends Whenever (8 January 2016 – present) * Stuck In The Middle (15 April 2016 - present) ''World Animal Championships'' (9 July 2014)* Shorts * Have A Laugh! (1 September 2010 – 2014) * Take Two With Phineas and Ferb (3 September 2011 – 2014) * Club Penguin Shorts (1 October 2013 – 2014) * Mickey Mouse (12 July 2013 – present) * Get The Look(3 November 2012) * First Class Chefs (22 June 2015 – 20 July 2015) * Access All Areas (19 September 2015 – 10 October 2015) Reruns * Boy Meets World (1995–2008;15 December 2014 – present) * That's So Raven(2002-Present) * Kim Possible(2003-Present) * Code:9 (12 January 2013 – 4 March 2015) * Prank-Stars (28 October 2011) * The Suite Life On Deck (19 September 2008 – 10 February 2012) * Sonny With A Chance (8 February 2009 – 30 September 2011) * So Random! (31 October 2011 – 26 October 2012) * Wizards Of Waverly Place (4 November 2008–Present) * Hannah Montana (5 May 2006 – present) * My Babysitter's A Vampire:The Series (4 August 2011 – 16 January 2013) * Shake It Up (5 November 2010–Present) * ANT Farm (16 September 2011 – 26 March 2014) * Good Luck Charlie (14 May 2009–Present) * Jessie (original run 17 February 2012 – 5 November 2015; reruns 6 November 2015 – present) * I Didn't Do It(original run 2 May 2014 – 12 February 2016; reruns 13 February 2016 — present) * Austin And Ally (original run 20 April 2012 – 18 February 2016; reruns 19 February 2016 — present) * Ever-Moor (10 October 2014) Former Programming Shows In The UK *''101 Dalmatians'' (1998–2002) *''Adventures in Wonderland'' (1995-2002, Part of Disney Channel's Under-fives Block) *''The Adventures of Sam'' *''The Adventures Of Spot'' (1998–2002, Part of Disney Channel's Under-fives Block) *''Aladdin'' (1998–2000;2006–2010) *''Alphabet Castle'' (1997-2002, Part of Disney Channel's Under-fives Block) *''Amazing Animals with Henry'' (1998–2002, Part of Disney Channel's Under-fives Block) *''American Dragon:Jake Long(2006–2008) *Art Attack(5 May 2004–2010) *As The Bell Rings(2006-2008)'' *''Bear In The Big Blue House'' (1998–2009) *''The Big Garage'' (1998-2002, Part of Disney Channel's Under-fives Block) *''Blossom'' (1996–2001) *''Bonkers'' (1996–1998) *''The Book Of Pooh'' (2004–2006) *''Braceface(2006–2009) *Brandy And Mr Whiskers(3 April 2004–2006)(US)(5/2/4) *Love(2007)'' *''Bus Life(2006-2007)'' *''The Bus UK(2004-2008)'' *''Buzz Lightyear Of Star Command'' (2000–2008) *''The Buzz On Maggie'' (2006-2008) *''Classic Toons'' (1998–2009) *''Club HSM(2005)'' *''Crash-Zone(2006)'' *''Creature Features(2007)'' *''Danger Bay(2008-2009)'' *''Darcy's Wild Life(2002)'' *''Darkwing Duck(1996-2005)'' *''Dave The Barbarian'' (28 October 2004–2005) *''Deepwater Haven(2006-2007)'' *''Dinosaurs(1995-2000)'' *''Disney Channel Games(2008-2009)'' *''Disney Consumer Arcade(2006)'' *''Disney Villains(2003)'' *''Disney's Cyber-Star(2006)'' *''Doug'' (2004–2005) *''Disney's House Of Mouse'' (2004–2006) *''Disney's Wonderful World'' (1996-2005) *''The Emperor's New School(2008-2009)'' *''Eyewitness(2010)'' *''Famous 5:On The Case(2009)'' *''Fillmore!'' (2004–2008) *''Fish Hooks(2010-2013)'' *''Gargoyles'' (1998–2002) *''Groundling Marsh(2005)'' *''Generation O!(2004-2006)'' *''Get Connected(1999)'' *''Goof Troop(1998-2010)'' *''Groove High(2014)'' *''Hannah-Oke(2008)'' *''Hercules'' (1999–2004) *''Hollywood Lives(2005)'' *''How To Be Indie(2009)'' *''In A Heartbeat(2010)'' *''The Incredible Story Studio(2005)'' *''Inside Clyde(2095)'' *''The Jersey(2006)'' *''Jett Jackson(2004-2005)'' *''The Legend Of Tarzan'' (2004–2008) *''Like Family(2006)'' *''Lilo And Stitch(2002 Film)(2009)'' *''The Little Mermaid'' (1996–2008) *''Lizzie Mc-Guire'' (2004) *''Lloyd In Space'' (2000–2005) *''Mad Libs(2008)'' *''Marsupilami(2002)'' *''Mickey Mouse And Friends(1996)'' *''Mickey Mouse Works(2000)'' *''Mickey's Mouse Tracks(2004)'' *''The Mighty Ducks'' (1998–2002) *''The Muppet Show'' (1998–2006) *''The New Adventures Of Winnie the Pooh'' (1996–2008) *''Pepper Ann'' (2004–2005) *''Phil Of The Future'' (2004–2006) *''Phineas And Ferb(2008-2013)'' *''The Proud Family'' (2004–2005) *''Quack Pack'' (1998–2002) *''The Raggy Dolls'' (1998–2006) *''Ratz(2003)'' *''Raw Toonage(2004-2005)'' *''Recess'' (2004–2006;2008–2010) *''The Replacements(2008-2009)'' *''Rolie Polie Olie'' (1999–2008) *''Rosie And Jim'' (1998–2002) *''Sabrina:The Animated Series(1999–2008) *Smart Guy(2003)'' *''Sweet Valley High(2005)'' *''So Weird(2002)'' *''Spooksville(2006-2011)'' *''Stanley'' (2004–2005) *''Star Ticket(2006)'' *''Student Bodies(2003)'' *''Studio Disney UK(2005)'' *''Tale-Spin(2002)'' *''Teacher's Pet'' (2004–2006) *''Teamo Supremo'' (2004–2006) *''Thunderstone(2005)'' *''Time Flyer(2006)'' *''Timon And Pumbaa'' (1998–2000;2006–2010) *''The Torkelsons(2004)'' *''Touched By An Angel(2002)'' *''Untalkative Bunny(2004-2008)'' *''The Weekenders'' (2004–2008) *''Wish Upon A Star(2005)'' *''The Wonderful World Of Disney(2004-2006)'' *''Woof!(2002)'' *''The Wuzzles(1996-2008)'' Category:TV Networks